Judges 6:11-12,14-15 (NKJV) Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” …. Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”Although Gideon was included in the “Hall of Faith” in chapter 11 of the Book Of Hebrews, we see that he had to deal with several of his weaknesses or perceptions before he was able to step into his call.
He chose to hide in the winepress to thresh the wheat instead of threshing it in the open because he was fearful of the Midianites. He wasn’t ready to respond to God’s call to face the challenges, and he gave the excuse that he belonged to the weakest of all tribes and was the least in the family. The problem was too overwhelming for him, not to mention leading the people to overcome the onslaught of the Midianites, and he suggested that God should use someone else to deal with the situation.
Like Gideon, we also have the tendency to give the same excuses when we are called or asked to trust God to overcome challenges in our lives. Often, the problem seems bigger than our God, and it is especially true when we are living in unprecedented times. We don’t think we are able to overcome the challenges because they seem like a huge mountain before us.
Although the Angel of the Lord called Gideon a “mighty man of valor”, he definitely didn’t feel like one, nor did he know or act like one when he was hiding from the invaders, feeling inferior and full of doubts in his mind about God. Nevertheless, God chooses to call us that as though we are, even if we don’t feel or act like it. We can witness this principle at work on another occasion with Abraham’s life.
Genesis 17:5 (NKJV) No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
God is full of faith and He has faith in His creation even though we might feel or act very differently from what He thinks and expects of us. Therefore, take heart that He is already calling us based on what He expects of us to do and achieve because He sees the end from the beginning!
Sermon Series: You Are in the Hall of Faith! (Part 1)
神相信你
士师记6:11-12， 14-15 耶和华的使者到了俄弗拉，坐在亚比以谢族人约阿施的橡树下。约阿施的儿子基甸正在酒榨那里打麦子，为要防备米甸人
耶和华的使者向基甸显现，对他说：「大能的勇士啊，耶和华与你同在！….
耶和华观看基甸，说：「你靠着你这能力去从米甸人手里拯救以色列人，不是我差遣你去的吗？」 15基甸说：「主啊，我有何能拯救以色列人呢？我家在玛拿西支派中是至贫穷的。我在我父家是至微小的。」
虽然基甸在《希伯来书》第11章中被列入“信心的殿中”(信心名人堂)，但我们看到，在他进入他呼召之前，他必须先对付自己的一些软弱或观念。
因为他害怕米甸人，就选择躲在酒榨那里打麦子而不是在外面打麦子。他还没有准备好回应神的呼召去面对挑战，他给出了一个借口，说自己的支派和在父家里是最弱最少的。这个问题对他来说太难了，更不用说带领以色列人战胜米甸人的攻击，他建议神找其他人来解决这个问题。
像基甸一样，当我们被呼召或被要求依靠神来面对我们生命中的挑战时，我们往往会给出同样的借口。问题常常显得比我们的神还要大，特别是我们现在活在前所未有的时代中。我们认为自己无法克服这些挑战，因为它们就像一座大山，横在我们面前。
尽管耶和华的使者称基甸为“大能的勇士”，他绝对不觉得自己是一位勇士，当他东躲西藏躲避侵略者时，他既不认得哪个勇士，自己也没有表现得像个勇士，他感到自卑，心中充满了对神的怀疑。不过，这与我们的感觉或行动无关，因为上帝选择了呼召我们，不是按着我们当下的光景。我们可以在另一个场景见证这个原则如何在亚伯拉罕的生命中起作用。
创世记17:5 从此以后，你的名不再叫亚伯兰，要叫亚伯拉罕，因为我已立你作多国的父
神充满信心，祂对祂的创造有信心，即使我们的感受或行动与祂对我们的想法和期望大相径庭。因此，请记住，祂已经按照祂对我们的期望和能够成就的在呼召我们，因为祂是站在起点上直望终点！
讲章系列：你在信心的殿中！（第一部分）